Nora is home for Xmas, Actually she’s been home a little longer than that and will probably be staying a bit after.  At twenty-one and living in Melbourne Nora found her life imploding. What came next, well Nora’s not quite ready to face yet, but she came home with a brand new Autism diagnosis that no one in her family wants to talk about. Holidays are hard enough, but as Nora watches all the people in her life gather round she questions whether her neurodiverse brain can regulate through all this stimulation.

George Kemp is an award winning writer of fiction, plays and television.

Rhett Davis is the author of Hovering. Today we’ve got his new novel Arborescence

Nora is home for Xmas, Actually she’s been home a little longer than that and will probably be staying a bit after.  At twenty-one and living in Melbourne Nora found her life imploding. What came next, well Nora’s not quite ready to face yet, but she came home with a brand new Autism diagnosis that no one in her family wants to talk about. Holidays are hard enough, but as Nora watches all the people in her life gather round she questions whether her neurodiverse brain can regulate through all this stimulation.

William J Byrne’s debut novel is The Warrumbar.

Evelyn Araluen is a Goorie and Koori poet, editor and researcher. She is co-editor of Overland Literary Journal. Evelyn’s first collection Dropbear won the Stella Prize in 2022 and she is joining us today with her new collection The Rot.

Xmas time is here and as sure we’ll be reaching for mince pies, gravy and white wine in the sun, we’ll also be turning our attention to festive tales that make us feel warm and full of cheer. Because festive cheer is what makes a Xmas story Xmassy right?

Today Felix Shannon joins us in conversation with Benjamin Stevenson Benjamin Stevenson is an award-winning stand-up comedian and author of the globally popular ‘Ernest Cunningham Mysteries’, including Everyone In My Family Has Killed Someone.

Today's Book Club is a reading from Evelyn Araluen's new poetry collection The Rot. Evelyn Araluen is a Goorie and Koori poet, editor and researcher. She is co-editor of Overland Literary Journal. Evelyn’s first collection Dropbear won the Stella Prize in 2022 and she is joining us today with her new collection The Rot. Originally aired on 2ser 107.3

Dr Katharine Pollock (PhD) is the author of Her Fidelity. Her new novel is Starry Eyed.

Sally Hepworth is a New York Times bestselling author of ten novels. Her novels have been translated into over 30 languages. Sally’s novel The Family Next Door has recently been adapted for television. Sally joins us today with her new novel Mad Mabel. 

Mark Mupotsa-Russell’s debut novel, The Hitwoman's Guide to Reducing Household Debt, won the 2023 Affirm Press Mentorship Award and today I’m bringing you his new novel The Wolf Who Cried Boy Henry and his mum move around a lot. It’s great for having adventures but hard to make friends. Henry knows he shouldn’t complain though. They’re moving to keep away from Henry’s father. Henry’s mum has told him his dad is a wolf, The Wolf King in fact. That’s okay because Henry knows that he and his mum are starchildren. They have superpowers and Henry is determined he’ll use them to protect his mum. Henry’s grandma is also sick. Henry’s never met her but together with his mum they’ll risk the wolves to head north to see her.

When you’re young in a small town it can feel like there’s not much to do. So you make your own fun. Maybe it’s footy, maybe church camp in the summer. Tate, Luther and Brylie are thick as thieves until the disappearance of Tate’s little brother shatters their world. The boys play footy and Brylie leaves town when her minister father gets a new posting. Years later and Brylie and her dad are back. Their return coincides with the discovery of a body on the beach. Another disappearance that connects them all.

Henry and his mum move around a lot. It’s great for having adventures but hard to make friends. Henry knows he shouldn’t complain though. They’re moving to keep away from Henry’s father. Henry’s mum has told him his dad is a wolf, The Wolf King in fact. That’s okay because Henry knows that he and his mum are starchildren. They have superpowers and Henry is determined he’ll use them to protect his mum. Henry’s grandma is also sick. Henry’s never met her but together with his mum they’ll risk the wolves to head north to see her. The Wolf Who Cried Boy is a gripping novel that takes the wonder and magic of childhood into the dark reality of domestic violence. Told from Henry’s perspective, we as readers must filter the world through the stories Henry’s mother has told him and his naive, incomplete understanding of the world around him. The result is horrifically effective and we are held captive to our own sense of foreboding at the family’s likely fate in a system stacked against them.

Jessica Dettmann is the author of four novels and one book for children. She’s Joining us today with her new novel Your Friend and Mine.

Naima Brown’s Mother Tongue

Omar is an award winning poet and writer from Western Sydney. His works include the novel, Son of Sin and the poetry collection The Lost Arabs, which won the 2020 Prime Minister’s Literary Award.

Ash has recently arrived in Melbourne and is seeking to define himself outside of his small town existence. When he meets Luke it’s love-at-first-sight, at least for Ash. Luke is gorgeous and seems to be everything; great apartment, cool friends, hot boyfriend. Raf is something else; cool, in control, dangerous. At least according to Booth, and Booth is scared…